Conveying apparatus.



S. SHAFER, JR. CONVEYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 1914.

Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

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APPLICA'HON FlLED FEB. 5. 1914.

Patented Jan. 7,1919.

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Patented Jan. 7,1919.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL SHAFER, IR, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO CHAIN BELT COM- PANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSI N, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

CONVEYING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '7, 1919.

Application filed February 5, 1914. Serial No. 816,778.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL SHAFER, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to conveyingapparatus, and has been wrought out with especial reference to being used in connection with a concrete mixing machine for delivering the product thereof to the sidewalk, pavement, or other place, where it is to be used; but while the invention is illustrated as embodied in apparatus such as indicated, it is not limited in its useful applications to such mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a conveying I apparatus embodying my invention;

Flg. 2 is an end View of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the conveying bucket, the means for controlling the doors through which it is discharged, and the supporting carriage, the near side frame of the latter being removed;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of one of the side frame pieces of the carriage that supports the conveying bucket;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the said frame piece;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the sliding contact piece that operates as a trip to dis charge the bucket; and i Fig. 8 is an end view of the said contact piece.

Fig. 9 is a detail vertical sectional view through the horizontal shaft constituting a pivot for the boom, parts being broken away. In the accompanying drawings, 2 indicates a portion of a 'concrete mixing machine, and 3, the upright framework located near the discharge end thereof.

4: designates a bracket supported by the framework 3, in which is mounted a vertical pivot 5 that carries at its lower end bearings 6 for a horizontal ported a boom 8, constituting the track or way along which the conveyor travels. This pivot 7 on which is supboom consists preferably of a pair of channel bars -9, 9,. suitably spaced apart, the flanges of the channel bars extending outward and constituting tracks for the wheels 10 of a carriage 11 from which is suspended a conveying bucket 12. When a tra'ckway such as described, that is, a rigid, adjustable boom, is employed, I preferto provide for its support and vertical adjustment by the following means. A cable 13 is connected,

by brackets 14, (not shown in Fig. 2) with the boom and extends, over a swiveled pulley 15, to a Winding drum 16. The said pulley and drum are mounted in an upward extension 17 of the frame 3. The drum is secured to a shaft 18 provided with a hand wheel, by means of which the cable may be let off or' wound up at pleasure.

The carriage llconsists essentially of a pair of side frame pieces 19, 19, suitably connected by cross bolts, and carrying the axles on which are supported the wheels 10. Each of these frame pieces is .provided with a short inwardly extending rib 20 terminating in abutments 21, these parts being for a purpose presently to be described.

I prefer to impart motion to the carriage by means of an endless chain belt 22, which is supported upon a driving sprocket wheel 23, mounted upon the "pivot 7, andanother sprocket wheel 24, supported at or near the outer end of the boom. This latter wheel is preferably adjustable in order to provide for regulating the tension of the chain belt- 22, being supported in a sliding frame 25, the position of which is controlled by an adjusting screw 26. If found desirable one or more intermediate supporting idler sprockets 27. may be employed for holding up the chain belt and preventing undesirable sagging thereof.

Secured to one of the links of the chain belt is a block or contact'piece 28, arranged to serve as the medium through which motion is transmitted from the chain belt to the carriage 11. This contact piece has a limited movement relative to the carriage, for which purpose I mount it upon the ways formed by the ribs 20 and between the abutments 21. The length of the contact piece is less than the length of the ways, and it is recessed at its edges, as indicated at 29, so as sliding along to engage with and slide along the ribs 20. From this construction it follows that when that strand of the chain belt to which the contact piece is connected moves outward, that is, toward the free end of the boom, said piece slides along-the ways 20 until it engages with the outer abutment 21, whereupon it communicates motion to the carriage and the conveyer bucket moves to the place of discharge. \Vhen this has taken place, and the direction of the chain belt is reversed, the contact piece moves, relative to the carriage, leaving the front abutment and the ways until it engages the rear abutment, when it imparts motion to the carriage, forcing it inward or toward the pivoted end of the boom. This loose connection between the belt 22 and the carriage is availed of for the purpose of controlling the doors through which the bucket 12 is discharged.

30, 30 indicate hinged doors in the bottom of the bucket, arranged to open outwardly for discharging the load. To these doors are connected links 31, and these in turn are connected with a lock link 32 pivoted to an arm 33 that extends outward from an axle 34 mounted in the carriage 11. There area contact arm 35 and an operating handle 37 also connected with the axle 34. The relation of the pivots of the links to the axis of the axle 34: is such that when the arm 33 is moved into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, the doors are held securely closed by a toggle lock of the parts, but a slight rotative movement of the axle is sufficient to carry the parts from this position, so that the doors will open freely. The opening of the doors may be accomplished by means of the handle 37, in a machine such as indicated in the drawings where the places at which the bucket discharges are being constantly changed; or preferably by a slight reverse motion imparted to the chain belt 22, which causes the contact piece 28 to engage the arm 33 and move it sufficiently to break the toggle lock, the piece 28 being for this purpose provided with a striking face 55. I arrange to close the doors automatically as the bucket is brought into position to receive its charge. For this purpose I have arranged a cam supported by brackets 41 from the boom. This cam has an inclined face 39 with which a contact roller 36" at the end of the arm 35 engages as the carriage approaches the inner end of its run. As the contact roller moves along this inclined faceof the cam the doors are gradually closed until the parts assume the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4. I prefer to a straight face 40 with which the contact roller remains in engagement so long as the bucket is at the inner end of its travel.

such as a cable,

38 (not shown in Fig. 2),.

provide the cam with The lock link 32 is provided with a hook 43 that is adapted to engage with a cross piece 44: of the carriage when the doors are open, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. L. The doors are thereby held supported when in open position, and are prevented from swinging.

A stop 42 is provided at the inner end of the boom for arresting the carriage and preventing it running off its track.

In order to provide for laterally adjusting the boom I secure to the vertical pivot 5 a gear segment 4:5 with which engages suitable adjusting means, such as a hand operated worm 46.

The chain belt 22 may be driven by any suitable mechanism. When the invention is applied to a concrete mixing machine as shown, I prefer that arrangement of driving gear which I will now describe.

47 is a bevel wheel, mounted upon the horizontal pivot 7 and connected with the inner sprocket wheel 23, it being preferably cast therewith. With this wheel engages a pinion i8 mounted upon a vertical shaft l9 that passes through and has bearing in the vertical pivot 5 for the boom. At the upper 1 end of the shaft 49is a bevel which engage a pair of diametrically opposed drive gears 51. These are loose upon the drive shaft 53, and one or the other of them may be connected at the pleasure of the operator with the gear 50, through clutch mechanism 52 controlled by a hand lever 54. Since these driving parts constitute no part of my invention they'are not illustrated in detail, and are merely referred to that the method of operating that embodiment of my invention illustrated, may be apparent.

It will be seen by reference to the drawings, that the lower operating strand or run of the endless chain belt lies between the channel bars of the boom which operate to cover and protect it. It will of course be understood that for many purposes any other flexible power-transmitting device, is the equivalent of the chain belt herein referred to and shown.

The method of operating my invention is as follows: The conveying receptacle is loaded, the doors 30 thereof being closed and locked, and then the chain belt or equivalent power-transmitting means is started and, through the contact piece 28, moves the bucket and its carriage along the supporting way until the point of discharge is reached. Here the bucket doors are opened, and its contents discharged, whereupon it may be immediately returned to position for loading, the bucketf doors standing open during such return movement, but being held suspended and against swinging by the hook 43 of the lock link. As the bucket and its supporting carriage apgear 50 with meogrea proach the loading position, the contact arm 35 is engaged by the cam 38 which operates to gradually close and lock the doors.

What I claim is:

1. In a concrete distributing apparatus, the combination of a supporting way, a conveyer carriage movable along the said way andcformed with side frame pieces spaced apart and having opposite, inwardly extending, guide ribs of limited extent, and abutments at the ends of the ribs, a driving cable for moving the conveyer carriage, and a contact piece secured to the cable and grooved at its edges to engage with the 7 said ribs.

2. In a concrete dlstributlng apparatus,

the combination of a boom formed of a pair of parallel channel bars spaced apart and united, a conveyer carriage the wheels of which run on the tracks formed by the flanges of the channel bars, the carriage having a frame that extends upward between the channel bars and is formed with opposite, inwardly extending, guide ribs and with abutments terminating the said ribs, an endless driving cable for moving the conveyer carriage, means for supporting the cable with its lower strand between the channel bars of the boom, a contact piece connected with that run of the driving cable that is between the channel bars and sup ported upon the said guide ribs, the length of the contact piece being less than the length of the guide ribs between the abutments, and the contact piece being provided with a downwardly extending operating projection, an openable, discharging bucket carried by the conveyer carriage, and means controlling the opening and discharge of the said bucket arranged to be operated by the operating projection of the contact piece.

SAMUEL SHAFER, JR. Witnesses:

O.- W. LEVALLEY, C. F. Mnssmenn. 

